Take a Break at
Rydges Melbourne, from
$189*
per room per night.
RYDGES MELBOURNE
186 Exhibition Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 1800 333 104 Email: reservations_melbour ne@rydges.com
www.rydges.com/melbourne
Take a break this autumn
You deserve to Take a Break with Rydges Melbourne this autumn. Relax in Locanda
Steakhouse with a mouth watering steak and an ice cold beer, or take advantage of
our premier location amongst the theatres and Melbourne's best shopping.
Includes: • Over night accommodation in a Deluxe Queen Room
• Full Buffet Breakfast in Locanda for 2 adults.
* Valid 1st March 2011 through to 31st May 2011 and subject to availability. Conditions apply.
Visit www.rydges.com/melbourne to view our packages and book online.
Brewing up success
Forrest’s general store has had a makeover, ALISON McADAM
discovers when she takes to the Otway Harvest Trail
IT used to be a much-anticipated milk bar selling
lollies by the bag. It was an hour from home
and about that again from our summer holiday
destination, Apollo Bay.
It was the Forrest general store but it’s not there
any more. The building is but it doesn’t sell lollies
by the bag.
And that’s just fine by me because it’s not 1985
and I’m no longer a little car-sick kid on a long
drive in the back of the car. It’s 2011, I’m driving the
car and Forrest is our destination.
We’ve heard about what the old general store
has become and we want to check it out. It’s called
the Forrest Brewery Company and it’s transformed
the old building into a light open bar and casual
restaurant.
The bar sells beer made on site (as well as
other beers and wine) and the restaurant serves
homemade gnocchi and pasties (as well as meals
such as fish and chips). It’s all explained on a giant
wall of blackboard and it’s all consumed at tables
inside or out.
And there’s a sunken couch area that features a
box of toys for the kids – I would have liked that a
lot in 1985.
While the Forrest Brewery Company might be the
new kid on the block, the Otway Harvest Trail also
features some well-established producers.
Stop for a bite to eat at the cleverly named
Martians café in Deans Marsh, or shop for some
goodies for the pantry at Winchelsea Larder, or
pick your own berries at the Pennyroyal Raspberry
Farm, Teahouse and B&B.
Wineries such as Brown Magpie Wines, Dinny
Goonan and Otway Estate Winery and Brewery
help make this region more than worthy of a taste
trail all its own. And they all combine to provide
any day tripper with an excuse to drive through
some of the region’s most spectacular scenery.
INFO
Forrest Brewing Company is at 26 Grant
St, Forrest. Phone 5236 6170 or go to
forrestbrewing.com.au. For more information on
the trail, as well as opening times and maps, go to
otwayharvesttrail.org.au
LOCAL’S TIP
‘‘When we have friends and family visiting from
interstate and overseas we always take them to
Cape Otway Lightstation. The views of the 1848
lighthouse and the Southern Ocean are world-
class and Toula, the Greek chef there, produces
delicious, hearty fare from her homeland. The
soups, savoury pies and baklava are yum.’’
- C OPAC centre manager Karen Patterson
GEELONG ADVERTISER I 5